Canon EOS 6D: A smaller, friendlier full-frame camera (pictures)

Smaller and lighter

The body is more compact than Canon's other full-frame offerings.

Photo by: Stephen Shankland/CNET

Body

You can get a better sense of the body size when it's equipped with the 40mm STM pancake lens. The sensor doesn't have the onboard hybrid contrast/phase-detection autofocus, so you wouldn't get the benefit of faster AF shooting movies with the STM lenses.

Photo by: Stephen Shankland/CNET

Thin profile

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Compressed control layout

Unlike most of Canon's higher-end dSLRs, the 6D lacks the row of buttons down the left side of the LCD, which allows for a narrower body.

Photo by: Stephen Shankland/CNET

Top

The camera lacks a built-in flash, which some people might miss. The buttons on the right shoulder are a bit more streamlined than the company's other full-frame models.

Photo by: Stephen Shankland/CNET

Mount

Unlike the D600, which can take APS-C-mount (DX) lenses and automatically crop to the frame, the 6D takes only the full-frame EF-mount lenses.

Photo by: Stephen Shankland/CNET

Sensor

Rather than incorporate the old sensor from the 5D Mark II, the 6D uses a new 20.2-megapixel version.

Photo by: Stephen Shankland/CNET

Battery

The 6D uses the same battery as most of the other Canon dSLRs.

Photo by: Stephen Shankland/CNET

ISO sensitivity settings

You can configure the range the camera uses when set to Auto ISO.

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Single SD slot

The single SD slot is somewhat disappointing; the Nikon D600 has two.

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Updated mode dial

Unlike other Canon dSLRs, the 6D's mode dial has 360-degree operation, with the modes spaced out evenly around it. This is a nice change. It also uses Canon's middle lock button design.

Photo by: Stephen Shankland/CNET

Connectors

The 6D has the usual set of connectors -- wired remote, mic input, USB, and mini-HDMI -- but some video shooters might miss a headphone jack.

Photo by: Stephen Shankland/CNET

Under the hood

Photo by: Stephen Shankland/CNET

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